I actually can’t believe I wrote that subject line…Season 12 already!? According to my calculations, that means we have taped 143 episodes over the last 11 seasons. This number, ironically, means “I love you” in text speak. How appropriate…because I love my hosting job and watching guests get a chance to share their amazing talents with a greater audience.

For season 12, we have taped two days of guest segments so far, and not even the constant misting of snow or bone-chilling temps in spring could dampen the energy in the studio.

Some highlights so far:

Vanessa Christenson of V and Co. fame came to demonstrate several projects for us, and also shared her new fabric line debuting for Moda Fabrics at Spring Quilt Market. Stores are going to gobble this line up, it is simply striking!

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Barbara Schneider braved driving from Chicago to Cleveland in a snow storm to tape several segments. I am a big fan of Barbara’s, and I’m hopeful that I have convinced her to be a featured artist in Open Studios at our Chicago Quilt Festival in June. She does spectacular surface design work, including creating vibrant, abstract fabric interpretations of her nature photographs.

See what I mean? She had yards and yards of this stuff on set.

Ana Buzzalino and her bright smile were back to dazzle with five segments for QATV this season. She is one of the kindest, most generous art quilters I have come across, and she told me on set that she is teaching for International Quilt Festival/Houston in the fall!  Believe me, if you are coming to Festival, you will absolutely want to take one of her classes! She is extremely talented (and is a very patient teacher).

The quilt above is one of Ana’s and it was at one time totally white. She pieced, appliqued, and quilted it (all in white fabrics and threads), and then took the plunge into a dye bath and dyed the entire piece orange. She is a brave soul!

Pauline Salzman came to tape two segments, too, including one on how she created pet postcards for our Festival Pet Project (which will run for two more years). She is a pretty hilarious person, and pushes the envelope so to speak, so it was very, very hard for me to keep it together during her segments and not laugh the entire way through. (When you see the segment where she shares her quilt of a close up of Bruce Springsteen and what she actually said on camera about his anatomy, you will understand why.) She made MANY postcards for the taping, most of which will go towards our Festival Pet Project this fall!

She said she is addicted to making postcards now because of the project…

And lastly, Luana and Sophie Rubin from eQuilter came to tape. As seasoned guests, they were great on camera and shared many inspiring quilts and fabrics!

And Sophie was pretty charming when she explained different ikat fabrics from different cultures…

Two days down, and three to go. More soon!

In case you are unfamiliar with the term “Irish Flu,” it’s a sickness one experiences on March 18, after celebrating St. Patrick’s Day by imbibing one too many green beers. Fortunately for me, I do not have a case of the Irish Flu today (and no one else at Quilts Inc. does either), but since our staff is getting ready to embark on Quilt Show season with our first show about three weeks away, it’s time we build or strength and stamina, beginning with a healthy, vitamin- and antioxidant-filled juice drink!

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I made sure we focused on ingredients that would yield green juice…

Why do I personally like to juice? I am bad about remembering to eat my fruits and vegetables every day, so juicing gives me a leg up. There are also vegetables I don’t like to eat, but they taste pretty good in a blended juice. Plus, juicing is a great idea before embarking on a long machine quilting session at your sewing machine as it will keep you energized and sated for hours. Some of my favorite fruits and vegetables to juice include (and yes, I mix them all together):

Spinach

Kale

Ginger

Garlic

Carrots

Cucumbers

Tomatoes

Lemons

Oranges

Peppers

Apples

Pears

Parsley

Beets (But be warned, this will make your juice bright red!)

I use a  Hurom Slow Juicer, which separates the pulp from the juice:

Before drinking, it’s a good idea to stir the juice with a spoon to make sure the fruits and vegetables are blended.

Bottom’s Up!

Happy Monday…

Earlier this month, I did a crazy and spontaneous thing: I put down my needle and thread and took a last minute trip to my beloved hometown of San Francisco for the weekend.

Fisherman’s Wharf
Saturday, March 2

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I stayed in my grandmother’s vacant apartment, which was bitter sweet. The last time I had been here was in 2010 when I hosted the SAQA board meeting, and since the apartment most likely will be going on the market soon since my grandmother has passed, I wanted to at least spend one more time in a place that has been a part of my life since I was a very small girl. The view aint half bad either…

I also got to have drinks on the wharf with my closest friend from high school who recently got engaged, and while pondering locales for her upcoming nuptials (Napa, Cindy, Napa!!!),  we got to talking about other close high school friends with whom we’ve lost touch, namely our friend Devin who three years ago launched her own restaurant in San Francisco (and has been getting a ton of press).

Here’s a shot of Devin and me 24 years ago…

Girls’ Varsity Basketball Team
The Branson School
1989

So on Saturday I decided to pay her a surprise visit at American Cupcake on Union Street. I was worried that when I saw her she wouldn’t recognize me (it’s been at least 15 years), but nope, we squealed and squeaked like a couple of meerkats upon sight, frightening all of her customers.

It was the best visit; over freshly baked chocolate cupcakes and glasses of pinot, we caught up, gossiped, and talked about our love of creating, whether it be food or quilts.

I am so proud of Devin, and for those who love fried chicken, she has a very, very special dish…

I am so glad I took this last minute trip, because besides making pet postcards for our Festival Pet Project last fall, my quilt muse has been fairly absent over the past year. Yet just going on this brief excursion, I am energized to fire up my thermofax machine and stitch a quilt I have in mind that pays tribute to my hometown. So my upcoming weekend plans will be to hole up in my studio whilst listening to some Flogging Molly on St. Patrick’s Day.

To all my fellow Irish, Sláinte!